Before I felt it I was scared as hell because Marlen is super crazy and I had no clue what he would put infront of me. I did like the fact that I had a partner to discuss what I was feeling with, so I didn’t have to go through the experience alone. The first thing I felt when I touch the object was the softness, so i knew that it was some sort of stuffed animal. I felt the heart tag on it so I knew that it was a beanie baby (because I used to have some of them). I felt that the thing had four leg-type things, and they caused me to believe that the object I was touching was a stuffed crab. It had two beady eyes and a little hard thing for a nose, or that’s what I would assume. It reminded me of a blanket that I have because it was super soft.
Touch Test #1 February 29, 2008
The object that was placed in my hand was round like a ball. It had little rounded notches in it. It’s something that I’ve touched before and I’m pretty positive that it was a golf ball. It’s a very common feel that many people would be able to recognize when they touch it, even if they don’t see it.
Free Writing Touch February 29, 2008
For this essay Im going to write about the different ways that i think about the word touch. I think that touch can be emotional, so im going to write about the way that it makes me feel and the passion behind ones touch. Im also going to write about physically touching things without it having a serious meaning, such as the way that Im touching the keyboard as I type this. I wrote my blog basically about the same thing im going to write my essay about, because i kind of wanted to get a head start on it. I have no clue what to write. i just dont want to work the rest of the day b/c i have to go to work after class and work until 4:30. Gross! Anyways, i actually think that i will like this essay because im broadening my thoughts and the way that im used to writing. I think it will be easier because we’re used to writing about our senses and the way that they make us feel. I never thought about the sens ofe touch so much as I am now, and its pretty interesting. Hmmm…Marlen this sucks a shit ton. I dont know what else to write. I cant do this! Im glad its friday, the weekend, ahh, i heart weekends. Im getting off topic but this is whats in my head, and thats what you told me to write. =) The sense of touch… okay, i cant finish my thought. I just keep listening to everybody typing on their keyboards (touching!) and now i’m very distracted. I stopped typibng for like 2 seconds, sorry, not like you would know because you’re not watching me type this. I’m a sneaky one. Please stop yelling at us about backspacing. K? Hmm, the sense of touch, im going to try to get focused one more time. Its something that I think is more of an emotional thing than physical, okay that makes no sense at all becuase you have to touch like everything. But still. I guess its just that I would rather think about it in an emotional way rather than just a physical one. If someone isnt emotionally touched, im sure that they have emotional problems. Well, actually im not sure. how the hell would i jknow that? Maybe I assume too much, but whatever. I cant type anymore marlen, this is too much pressure. I cant keep touching this keyboard. Haha, i crack myself up, fo real. I cant belive I just said that. I keep backspacing, this is hard for me. I hate when i dont spell things correctly and know that I dont.
Touch February 28, 2008
What does touch really mean?
Touch is the primary sense, and the tactile sense is the primordial way of experiencing life. (Nathan) This is the same concept that Diane Ackerman was talking about, when she said, “Touch teaches us that we live in a three-dimensional world.” (Ackerman) Ackerman is simply stating that by touching an object in a physical sense, one can tell that it is three-dimensional. Touch can mean many things to different people. Some think of touch as something physical, while others think of it as a mental or emotional experience. When I hear the word touch I often think of something that I simply make contact with and can feel.
Another way that I think of the sense of touch is when something touches my heart emotionally. In the article “The Common Touch” the author explains how receiving a letter or gift touches our hearts. (Watson) When someone tells me something they like about me or when I see somebody performing a kind act, it touches my heart. Knowing that there are still decent people in the world makes me want to open my heart even more to others so I can touch their hearts.
I also feel that a physical touch can lead to an emotional one. An example of this is having a sensual relationship with somebody that I truly care about. When this person kisses my lips, the touch is simply physical, but the passion behind the kiss causes me to be touched emotionally. I agree with Diane Ackerman completely when she stated, “It’s as if, in the complex language of love, there were a word that could only be spoken by lips when lips touch, a silent contract sealed with a kiss.” (Ackerman)
I know that I will never really be able to describe the word touch using just one definition, because I think of it in so many different ways. I physically touch many things throughout each and every day that I live, but I also am touched emotionally and mentally by things that happen to me. The sense of touch is perhaps, the sense that is used most, both physically and emotionally, in peoples’ everyday lives.
Works Cited
Ackerman, Diane. A Natural History of the Senses. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.
Nathan, Bevis. “The Sense of Touch-A Philosophical Surprise.” Journal of Holistic Healthcare 4.4(2007) 24-31. 28 Feb 2008 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=3&sid=ddaee885-fe64-432d-a992-35aabae55e09%40SRCSM2.
Watson, Rhoda. “The Common Touch.” Nursing Older People 17.1(2005) 44-45. 28 Feb 2008 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=22&sid=ddaee885-fe64-432d-a992-35aabae55e09%40SRCSM2.
Reflecting… February 17, 2008
After my first ENGL 101 class, I thought the rest of the semester was going to be hell. I thought that learning how to become a better writer, while learning about my senses was a very stupid idea. Although I thought that this Marlen guy was nice, I thought he was a little crazy: trying to teach us to write through our senses sounded like a ridiculous idea.
After a few more classes with Marlen I began to actually like the class. The idea of learning about my senses through writing grew on me, and now I love it. I didn’t like having to write an essay every weekend, but I really like the whole concept. I never realized how significant each one of my senses is to my life, until this class. Writing about each one of them took me back to different times in my life that I would never like to forget.
The first blog entry I did in this class was answering the question: What is I? I don’t think I will ever truly know what I am, because I’m always changing and growing. I definitely think that taking this course has helped me along with figuring out who I really am. Marlen’s class really helped me dig deep into what each of my senses means to me, and how I interact with the world through these senses.
It Melts In Your Mouth (revised) February 17, 2008
It Melts In Your Mouth
With so many tasty treats out there, it’s hard to choose just one to describe to someone. The one I chose has different textures and tastes throughout, and looks as though it came from another planet. I would say that it came from Mars, but since this is generally kept cold, it would be quite hard to keep this treat in the form people like to eat it in. This treat is often eaten as an after-meal dessert, a comfort food, or at random times throughout the summer to keep people cool. One should prepare his or her taste buds while I describe one of the most delicious tastes I have ever experienced.
Unfortunately, this treat doesn’t have a smell, but if it did, oh could I imagine it; A chocolaty, minty aroma that could be smelled from miles away. The look of this food is a very odd one, indeed. It is a light colored green, with small brown bits and pieces spread throughout it. It reminds me of a snow-filled backyard with children in puffy dark snowsuits solitarily playing in the fluffy white precipitation. The temperature is just that of snow. It is very cold and frigid, until placed in a higher temperature; when it then begins to melt into a warm, soupy substance.
As I place this food in my mouth, I feel like I just stepped outside on a cold wintry day. It’s a chilling experience, yet a completely refreshing one. The first thing I taste is mint. It feels like I just got done brushing my teeth. Again, this is a completely refreshing and invigorating sensation in my mouth. The texture is soft and mushy in my mouth; but a good mushy, almost like a banana. This food is not soft throughout though. The second thing I taste is chocolate. It is as though I’m eating a Hershey’s chocolate bar that’s crushed into tiny pieces. This part of the treat is very hard, unlike the mint part, but also tastes very good. This mushy, yet crunchy treat brings joy to my taste buds the whole time I’m chewing it.
The after taste of this food is almost as good as when it is in my mouth. I still taste the chocolate and the mint. The taste of the mint continues to linger on my tongue and freshen my breath. The chocolate flavor that is left in my mouth makes me want to eat more and more; but doing that might just make me sick. During the after taste, the cool temperature of the delicacy begins to disappear, leaving my mouth warm again, yet still cool from the mint-like flavor. It makes my mouth water just thinking about the experience of eating this absolutely delicious food.
The taste that I have been writing about describes mint chocolate chip ice cream. The cool, minty flavor will always make me feel as though I just stepped outside to a fresh fallen snow, and the chocolate chips remind me of a tasty candy that has been broken into tiny pieces. Mint chocolate chip ice cream is one of my favorite desserts, and the taste makes me want to just melt with every single bite that I take.
Take Me Back In Time February 10, 2008
I step outside on a mildly hot summer morning. The slight breeze moves my hair over my face, and the sun beats down on me, instantly making me warm. I see the bright colors of the flowers and grass, and people working outside in their yards. I inhale deeply and smell the odd but calming scent of fresh cut grass. This is a smell that brings back many memories from my childhood summers; playing outside all day long, and only going inside to get an ice cold glass of water. It reminds me of the cool summer nights, laying outside and gazing at the stars. It felt like I was in an entire different world, as if nothing could ever go wrong.
I miss those childhood summers; when all I had to worry about was if my mom was going to let me eat ice cream after lunch or if my friends would be allowed to come over and play. I never slept much when I was younger, so I would wake up sometimes as early as 8:00 am. Every morning I would wake up and walk downstairs and out the front door to see what the weather was like for that day. Then I would watch cartoons while I eat my cereal; which was usually something like fruit loops or lucky charms. I would then call my best friend/neighbor, Rachel (who is still one of my best friends today), to come down so we could play outside. She always rode her bike down to my house, and everyday we would spend hours of our time riding our mountain bikes down the back roads behind my house. We would have my mom make us sandwiches for lunch, and sometimes afterwards we would ride our bikes to the ice cream shop down the road from our houses. We spent our afternoons swimming in my pool, playing soccer, and just running around my yard for what seemed like ever. It was always a sad, sad moment when Rachel’s mom would call and tell her it was time to go home.
My summer nights were spent sitting on my porch with my parents and siblings, listening to the crickets chirp and the flow of the water from the creek behind my house. My sisters, brother, and I would often run round our yard catching fireflies; putting them in jars that we had put small holes on the tops. The fireflies, along with the moonlight, would help guide us through our yard, which for a child seemed miles long. When it was time for bed, I was sad to know that the day had come to an end, but excited for what adventures the next day would bring me.
All of these memories that are instilled in my head are just from that one smell of fresh cut grass. It’s so hard to explain what it actually smells like. It’s the same type of freshness that I smell on a cold winter morning. The grass smells kind of dull and dry, yet its scent is so exhilarating to me. It turns out that the smell of the grass is actually from the chlorophyll, and is basically the scent of the grass’s blood. This was a fact very interesting to me, because I had no clue that that is where that smell came from.
Every time I smell the fresh cut grass, I think of all the memories I have made throughout all the summers I have lived through. It makes e feel young and free again, like I could run through a field with my arms waving in the air. No matter how old in age that I get, I will always feel young at heart, especially when I smell the aroma of the fresh cut grass. I will always be taken back to those long summer days, when I didn’t have a single care in the world.
Smell Fest 2008 (2) February 8, 2008
I smelled a cute boy! What does a cute boy smell like, I don’t really know, but it was good, very good. I wanted to smell it FOREVER. And I just wanted to jump on top of him, but don’t tell my boyfriend. Um, that is it, boy.
Smell Fest 2008 (1) February 8, 2008
I closed my eyes and sniffed the mystery scent. I smelled a mix of a flowery perfume worn by an old woman, and alcohol. I felt like it was a Friday night and I was taking shots of cheap vodka. (Gross much?) It was a very weird mix of scents, but that’s what i smelled. Maybe my stuffy nose interfiered? Lets hope so.
Do you smell that? February 5, 2008
Smell is something that many people take for granted and never really think about. Even I don’t normally think that smell is that important; that is, until some scent reminds me of a past event or person that I never really want to forget. Sense of smell is the most overlooked sense that humans have. (Mathrani) This really is true when I actually think about it. When I smell a food I like or dislike, I never think that it’s a big deal; It’s just a smell.
I forget how important some things are or have been in my life, until I smell something that reminds me of it. The smell of the snow in the winter reminds me of my love for skiing and how much fun my friends and I have had. It reminds me of highschool, and a hell-ish trip to Vermont in February 2007. The smell of my mom’s homemade pot pie reminds me of growing up in my house with my 4 siblings, and how difficult it is to be three hours away from all of them for months at a time. Smells don’t always remind me of good things though. Smells such as that of a dentist’s office makes me want to cry and run back home to my mom.
Smell is also important to me because it helps me determine if I’m going to like a certain taste or not. Smell is also part of the reason we taste things, because our taste buds on our tongue only percieve sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes. (SIRC) I can tell when I walk into the door of my house if I’m going to like what my mom is making for dinner. If it’s something that I think smells bad, I probably won’t even try and taste it.
Sense of smell is very important because it helps me distinguish tastes I will or will not like, and it reminds me of things that have happened to me throughout my life. Certain smells remind me of people that I never want to forget in my life, and of memories that I have had with them. They make me think of different foods I have tried, both with good and bad tastes. Thinking about how important my sense of smell is, makes me realize that without it I would have many past events in my life lost within my mind.
Mathrani, Vandana. “The Power Of Smell.” http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1887
SIRC. The Smell Report. “The Human Sense of Smell” http://www.sirc.org/publik/smell_human.html
